| UNIVERSAL SOUL: MALACHI Ever meet someone whose name was so strong that it just demanded your attention? Well, if not, try this name out: Malachi. Imagine being seated to hear one of your favorite artists perform. All of a sudden you hear MALACHI surrounding the entire venue. You have no idea what to expect as the opening act—a humble man with long dreads—walks out on stage. The entire audience soon realizes that Malachi’s voice and stage presence is more powerful than hearing the name itself. Malachi presents his listeners with, what he likes to call, Universal Soul. “You might hear anything coming from me. Might be R&B, Blues, Hip-Hop, Jazz, and Country, Soft Rock— whatever—but it’s always going to be with that Malachi Soul on it,” he explains. “Whatever I do I’m goin’ to be soulful. You might hear me in different realms of music, but it’s always going to be from the heart and really felt with a lot of passion in it.” Malachi prepares Made In Atlanta, LP (Hustlin Boy Records) set to be released soon. “I took the album a couple different places this time around,” the Orangeburg, SC native excitedly says. The topics—which range from the current social ills, to love, to wanting to dance up in the club—are placed over strong vocal arrangements and beats. Malachi says some beats were drawn from the Spanish and Middle Eastern cultures which also will broaden his international appeal. Malachi, like most artists, took an interest to music as a career at a very young age. He began to sing in his church choir and local talent shows. His career escalated as a group member in the R&B group Phinese. Phinese was Diddy’s first option to sign to Bad Boy. The group, however, declined the Bad Boy deal and later signed with DreamWorks. Malachi launched his solo career writing, producing, and performing original works before audiences in Atlanta—a place he now calls home. It took Malachi no time to lay the foundation for himself “in da A.” He received the ATL Underground Artist Awards for Artist of the Year and Song of the Year; won Neo-Soul Artist of the Year and Best Product of the Year for The Experience EP; composed Rise Up! a chant for the Atlanta Hawks Organization; and toured with Hot 107.9. He was also introduced to the Dungeon Family by producer Rico Wade himself; and Malachi has been a proud member since 2005. His list of collaborations is just as long as his list of accomplishments. Atlanta’s Unsigned Hype has performed a tribute to TuPac (Mourn You Til I Join You) and has worked with multi platinum producers such as Jazzy Phae, Rico Wade of Organized Noize, and many more. The momentum does not stop here. Malakeezy frequently performs in Atlanta at places such as Hard Rock Café, Apache’ Café, The Underground, Club Vinyl, 20 Grand Concert Hall, Café 290 (not to mention he’s already graced the stages of Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman Colleges and performed for BMI showcases and appeared on the BMI mixtape);performed in NYC at BB Kings Blues Club; performed in Washington DC at the Birchmere Theater; constantly seen on local cable television; and released a mixtape Workaholic (Dungeon Family 2007). He also plans on tapping into the fashion industry with his clothing line Mələchi Wear. Just like the strength behind his name, Malachi delivers strong messages to the masses. “I want people to know that it’s cool to be in love and you can make it through your struggles in life,” Malachi says. He’s already proven to deliver this message in an over saturated market and plans to increase his stock in the global market place Made In Atlanta, his upcoming album. His soulful vocals, endless determination, and a concrete fan base, will catapult this Hustlin’ Boy to the top.
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